Board mounted cable connector

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a board mounted electrical connector for terminating the free end of a flat round conductor cable to post terminals mounted on the board. The connector includes a housing having a cable receiving end and opposed mating end, with a bottom wall having a board engaging surface extending therebetween. Extending parallel to the board engaging surface, between the conductor receiving and mating end is a plurality of wire and terminal receiving cavities which have an open top, communicating with a top surface of the connector housing. Terminals received in the cavities have a wire engaging portion with insulation piercing barbs, and an opposed pin engaging portion with an integrally formed cantilever spring finger. When loaded into the housing, the wire engaging portion of the terminal terminates wire conductors received at one end of the cavity while the pin engaging portion is positioned adjacent pin receiving passageways located adjacent the mating end of the housing. As the connector is lowered onto an upper surface of the printed circuit board, post-like terminals mounted on the board are received in the pin receiving passageways to make sliding contact with the cantilevered spring fingers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention pertains to low profile connectors for use with printedcircuit boards, and particularly to connector arrangements forelectrically interconnecting a flat round conductor cable to postterminals mounted adjacent a free edge of a printed circuit board.

2. Brief Description of the Prior Art

One connection system commonly used in the telephone industry todayemploys arrays of post terminals for interconnecting large numbers ofcircuits contained on panel or printed circuit boards. It is frequentlynecessary to connect the board mounted post terminals to the conductorsof cable assemblies which originate at locations remote from the circuitboard.

One example of a connector in use today, described in European PatentApplication No. 0,057,780 filed Feb. 11, 1981, includes a single row ofpin receiving terminals arranged side by side in a common connectorhousing. The connector is inserted end-wise over the post terminals,presenting a relatively high profile in that the connector body andcable conductors extend at right angles to the printed circuit boardsurface. Efforts in reducing the overall size of pin receivingconnectors has resulted in the miniature connector which is shown anddescribed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 555,784 filed Nov. 28,1983 and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. Aninsulation displacing wire engaging portion and a pin engaging portionare integrally formed in the terminal, immediately adjacent each other.However, while providing a connector of overall reduced size, thearrangement still presents a relatively high profile since the axis ofthe cable conductors extends parallel to that of the terminal posts,i.e., perpendicular to the surface of the printed circuit board.

A somewhat lower profile arrangement is shown in Great Britain PatentApplication No. 1,558,582 filed Nov. 25, 1976 has a similar arrangementof pin receiving terminals, but the cable conductors extend at a rightangle to those terminals, parallel to the printed circuit board surface.Even though this affords a somewhat closer spacing between adjacent,stacked printed circuit boards, even closer spacings are required today.

The arrangements described above are for discrete round wire conductors,rather than the multi-conductor flat cable currently in use today intelephone interconnections. One popular modular telephone connector inuse today with such cable is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,998,514,assigned to the Western Electric Company. The connector has a housingwhich slidingly receives a series of integral terminals havinginsulation piercing wire engaging portions. A flat multi-conductor cableis inserted in one end of the connector housing, with the individualcircuit conductors being received in passageways formed in the housing.The cable conductors are terminated as the insulation piercing portionsof the terminals are inserted into the passageways, during loading ofthe terminals in the housing. It would be desireable to use the sametermination techniques at each end of a harness having one of thesetelephone connectors.

The spacing between conductors of this cable frequently is somewhatcloser than the spacing that can be permitted between board-mounted,post adjacent terminals. Therefore, a transition connector, (oneproviding a transition between the two interelement spacings involved)is required.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a lowprofile pin receiving connector which is adapted to electricallyinterconnect a multi-conductor flat cable to post terminals mounted on aprinted circuit board.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a low profiletransition connector for interconnecting a flat cable having oneinterconductor spacing, to an array of post terminals having a differentinterelement spacing.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide acable-to-board pin receiving connector having terminals with insulationpiercing conductor engaging portions which make electrical contact withthe wire conductors as the terminals are loaded in the connectorhousing.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a highdensity, low profile cable-to-board connector having integral stampedterminals formed from a flat sheet oriented generally perpendicular tothe printed circuit board, and which are formed to preserve their flat,plate-like configuration.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

These and other objects of the present invention are provided in a lowprofile electrical connector for connecting a plurality of printedcircuit board mounted pins with the end portion of a flatmulti-conductor cable, said connector including,

a dielectric housing having a board engaging surface, an opposed topsurface and a conductor receiving end, said housing further having aplurality of terminal receiving cavities extending between a pinreceiving opening in said board engaging surface and said conductorreceiving end, and

a plurality of metallic stamped terminals mounted in said cavities, eachterminal having a conductor engaging portion adjacent the conductorreceiving end and a resilient female pin engaging portion adjacent theboard engaging surface

the improvement comprising: said conductor engaging portion of eachterminal being positioned laterally adjacent said pin engaging portionand immediately adjacent said board engaging surface, and being adaptedto engage a conductor extending generally parallel to said boardengaging surface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings, wherein like elements are referenced alike,

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the connector according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the connector of FIG. 1 taken from the bottom,pin-receiving end; and

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along the lines of 3--3 of FIG.2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to the drawings, and especially to FIG. 1, a connectoraccording to the present invention, generally indicated at 10, comprisesa connector housing 12 and a plurality of pin-receiving terminals 16.Connector 10 is adapted to mate with a plurality of pins or postterminals 20 which are mounted in printed circuit board 22 adjacent afree edge 24. When lowered onto an upper mounting surface 26 of printedcircuit board 22, connector 10 slidingly engages post terminals 20.Connector 10 is adapted to terminate the wire conductors 30 of a flatcable 32, to post terminals 20. Cable 32 is of conventional design, witha plurality of wire conductors 30, each having an insulative covering 34of dielectric material, enclosed within a dielectric sheath 36.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, connector 10 includes a housing 12 having aconductor receiving end 40 and an opposed mating end 42. Conductorreceiving end 40 includes a cable receiving opening 44, and strainrelief means for retaining the cable in the housing. Housing 12 alsoinclude sidewalls 46, 48, a bottom wall 50 having an exterior boardengaging surface 52, and a top wall 54 having a top surface 56. Theinterior portion of housing 12 adjacent the conductor receiving end 40is hollow, whereas the portion adjacent mating end 42 has a plurality ofinternal barriers 60 forming a plurality of elongated wire and terminalreceiving cavities 62 which communicate with top surface 56. Thelaterally outermost barriers 60 cooperate with housing sidewalls 46, 48to form the laterally endmost wire and terminal receiving cavities.Cavities 62 include conductor receiving openings 64 which arepreferrably scalloped or funnel-shaped to promote insertion of wireconductors 30 therethrough. The opposed end of cavities 62, locatedadjacent mating end 42, and terminated in pin terminal receivingpassageways 66 which, at one end, communicate with board engagingsurface 52, forming a pin receiving opening 68 therein. The upper endsof pin receiving openings 66 communicate with top surface 56 tofacilitate loading of terminals 16 in housing 12.

The end of flat cable 32 inserted in housing 12 is stripped, andindividual conductors 30 are fanned out, each conductor being receivedin its respective cavity 62. After insertion of cable 32, terminals 16are lowered into housing 12, to terminate wire conductors 30 and toeffect loading of the terminals, as will be described.

Terminals 16 have a wire engaging end 72 with insulation piercing barbs74 and terminal retention teeth 76 formed therein. The opposed pinreceiving end 78 of terminal 16 has a cantilevered pin engaging finger82 struck out therefrom. Cantilever finger 82 is formed to have aspring-like bowed contact portion 88 which slidingly engages an externalsurface of post terminal 20. Terminals 16 are preferably formed from anintegral stamped blank to have a generally flat, plate-likeconfiguration, and are arranged to lie in a plane generallyperpendicular to mounting surface 26 of printed circuit board 22 tominimize the area of board engaging surface 52.

Although the pin receiving end 78 of terminal 16 is of a generallyU-shaped configuration formed from a downwardly extending leg 108depending from intermediate portion 100, finger 82, and an intermediatebight portion 110, other arrangements will become apparent to thoseskilled in the art. For example, bight portion 110 could be located nearthe top surface of the connector housing. Also, if deeper penetrationinto the board mounting surface 26 can be tolerated, fingers 82 canextend in a direction generally parallel to the board mounting surface,rather than being disposed generally perpendicular thereto, as indicatedin the preferred embodiment. Contact surface 88, which engages the postterminals 20, could also comprise a dimple portion formed in a flatplate-like end of terminal 16. While other contact arrangements can beemployed, terminal 16 of the preferred embodiment is of generally flatplate-like configuration which avoids laterally extending rolled over orfolded portions. The board engaging surface 52 of this arrangementpresents a minimum surface area or "real estate" requirement formounting on printed circuit board 22. In any event, the wire engagingportion of the terminal will be positioned laterally adjacent the pinengaging portion and immediately adjacent the board engaging surfacewhile the cable conductors extend generally parallel to the boardengaging surface of the housing.

Typically, in the telephone industry, the spacing between the individualwire conductors 30 of flat cable 32 is substantially smaller than thespacing between post terminals 20, which are colinearly aligned adjacentthe free edge 24 of printed circuit board 22. To accommodate thisdifference in spacing, connector 10 provides a transition in spacingwith the mating end being enlarged so as to accommodate a fan-out ofterminals 16. Plate-like terminals 16 are bent with a first lateraloffset 92 to form the fan-out required for the spacing transition. Toconform with the surfaces of post terminals 20, which have a squarecross-section, terminals 16 are provided with a second lateral offset 96adjacent the mating end of the connector. Lateral offsets 92,96 arepreferrably formed in intermediate terminal portion 100 which extendsgenerally parallel to the board engaging surface 52.

Referring now to FIG. 3, cavities 62 conveniently comprise alongitudinally extending conductor receiving passageway 120 which isclosed at its forward end. Communicating with conductor receivingpassageway 120 is a downwardly extending channel 122 which receives theinsulation piercing portion of terminal conductor engaging end 72.Passageway 122 forms sidewalls 124,126 which are penetrated by teeth 76to provide terminal retention therein. The lowermost barbs 74 penetratethe dielectric covering 34 surrounding each conductor 30 to terminatethe conductor. A downwardly extending pocket 128 formed at the matingend of cavity 62 receives the leg 108, bight portion 110 and finger 82of terminal 16. Pin receiving passageway 66 is formed to one side ofpocket 128.

A hinged tab 140, formed adjacent the cable receiving end 40 of housing12, has a free end which is deflect into the cable receiving passageway44 to engage cable sheath 36. The upper free end 142 of tab 140 engagestransverse housing wall portion 144 to maintain strain relief engagementwith cable 32. Formed adjacent strain relief 110 is a downwardlyextending channel 150 which comprises a blind hole having a relativelythin end wall 152 which is driven into the dielectric covering 34 of anindividual conductor 30 to provide additional strain relief therefor.

Although illustrated in the various figures as having an open topsurface, housing 12 can be enclosed with an upper wall member onceterminals 16 are loaded therein and termination to cable 32 is effected.The upper wall could have downwardly extending protrusions receivedwithin notches 140 formed in terminals 16 to further limit longitudinalmovement of terminals. If additional vertical securement of connector 10to printed circuit board 22 is required, integrally molded engaging pins160 having enlarged heads 162 can be provided, for insertion inappropriate mounting holes 164 formed in printed circuit board 22.

What is claimed is:
 1. A low profile electrical connector for connectinga plurality of printed circuit board mounted pins with the end portionof a flat multi-conductor cable, said connector including,a dielectrichousing having a board engaging surface, an opposed top surface and aconductor receiving end, said housing further having a plurality ofterminal receiving cavities extending between a pin receiving opening insaid board engaging surface and said conductor receiving end, and aplurality of metallic stamped terminals mounted in said cavities, eachterminal having a conductor engaging portion adjacent the conductorreceiving end and a resilient female pin engaging portion adjacent theboard engaging surface the improvement comprising: said conductorengaging portion of said terminal being positioned laterally adjacentsaid pin engaging portion and immediately adjacent said board engagingsurface, and being adapted to engage a conductor extending generallyparallel to said board engaging surface.
 2. The connector of claim 1wherein each of said terminals comprise an elongated plate-like memberlying in a plane extending generally perpendicular to said boardengaging surfaces.
 3. The connector of claim 2 wherein said terminalreceiving cavities comprise elongated passageways extending generallyparallel to said board engaging surface, said channels having an opentop communicating said top surface of said dielectric housing forreceiving said terminals.
 4. The connector of claim 3 further comprisingstrain relief means formed in said dielectric housing adjacent saidconductor receiving end for engaging said cable.
 5. The arrangement ofclaim 3 further comprising printed circuit board engaging meansintegrally formed with said housing so as to provide fixed securementbetween said housing and said printed circuit board when said pinengaging portions are mated with said board-mounted pins.
 6. Theconnector of claim 3 wherein said resilient female pin engaging portioncomprises a cantilever spring finger struck out from said plate-likemember.
 7. The connector of claim 6 wherein said cantilever springfinger is located adjacent one end of said plate-like member and saidconductor engaging portion comprises an insulation piercing memberformed adjacent an opposing end of said plate-like member.
 8. Theconnector of claim 6 further comprising housing engaging means laterallyformed with said plate-like member adjacent said cantilever springfinger for engaging said dielectric housing so as to retain said pinengaging portion therein during enggement with said pin.
 9. Theconnector of claim 2 wherein said plurality of printed circuit boardmounted pins are spaced apart from each other a first predetermineddistance, said conductors of said cable are spaced apart from each othera second predetermined distance, and said elongated plate-like terminalmembers include lateral offsets so as to provide a transition betweenthe spacing of said board mounted pins and said cable conductors. 10.The arrangement of claim 9 wherein said board-mounted pins have agenerally square cross-section and said plate-like terminal membersinclude a second of lateral offset to align said pin engaging portionwith an exterior surface of said board-mounted pins.